France, but not as we know it
Les Bleus will play home games away from Paris for the first time in the championship: against Ireland in Marseille this Friday, Italy in Lille on 25 February and England in Lyon on 16 March, the final weekend. Spreading the rugby word outside capital cities is surely A Good Thing – particularly in view of frequent complaints across the Channel regarding the Rugby Football Union’s attachment to Twickenham and its revenue-generating power. France’s move is necessitated by construction work taking place at Stade de France to prepare the venue for the Olympic Games this summer, and the French Rugby Federation’s bottom line will take a hit, but perhaps Fabien Galthié’s team will be glad to swerve the scene of their World Cup elimination. The same may be said for Ireland, who also bowed out in Paris on that memorable quarter-final weekend.
